Sony WA vs Century Fisheye at DVinfo.net

Jason Bodnar · July 21st, 2008, 10:48 AM

I am trying to figure out which to go with or Both, an Yes I know there is a difference between a WA and a fisheye as I have both for my SD cam but my fisheye is the Extreme and this .55 does not look nearly as Fisheye to me....I have not seen any real test footage with the Sony WA but I saw the great footage of the fisheye by Steve, Now inside the helicopter it did not seem the distortion or bubble affect was very present and only when used extremely close to the object (headlight) did it start to bubble out. So can someone provide some examples of each of these two at full wide compared to just the onboard lens?
Ideally I would have got the Century WA but it obviously is not reliable at this time... I would be using the attachment for a shot in the Grand Canyon and also a fight seen in a Barn... Any help or suggestions would be appreciated...

Paul Cronin · July 21st, 2008, 11:31 AM

Hi Jason,

I have both and they are very different lens. The WA does a great job and the distortion is minimal. Some have said it is heavy but I don’t really notice the weight. Focus is easy and very sharp. Yes the sunshade is weird. But I will cut it off once the Red Rock Matte box is ready to ship.

The Century Fisheye is a great lens once you know the focus tricks. Keep the focus ring forward for auto and switch to Macro. I also keep the bottom switch on manual and the focus dials right in and is very sharp. I have a few clips with the fisheye but not the same scene with and without. But I will put a clip up in a few hours.

Buy both if you can afford it!

Jason Bodnar · July 21st, 2008, 01:18 PM

Thanks Paul, I am looking foward to the clips...

Paul Cronin · July 21st, 2008, 02:47 PM

Jason I will have to downconvert the clips since Cox only lets me upload 10 mb at a time.

Anyone have a trick so I can upload full size clips with Cox.net?

Paul Cronin · July 21st, 2008, 03:15 PM

Jason not sure what the problem is but it only accepts one of the files. I always have a problem uploading files it must be cox.net. I will try tomorrow when I have more time to get the fisheye up.

Jason Bodnar · July 21st, 2008, 06:25 PM

Thanks Paul

Paul Cronin · July 24th, 2008, 06:56 AM

Jason this is not working the upload fails every time and it is only 1.6 MB.

I did a shoot yesterday and 90% was the Sony WA and Century Fisheye. Both lens worked great. I have one more job through Sunday then will be able to show you some footage.

send me a email and I will give you a link to some clips next week if you are interested.

Ted OMalley · July 24th, 2008, 03:25 PM

Has anyone compared the Century .6 with the .55?

http://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecomm...=1474&IID=6368

http://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecomm...=1474&IID=6373

I'm leaning toward the .55, even though it costs a little more, because it is more of what I'm going for. It would, though, be nice to see footage of both, side by side.

Jason Bodnar · July 25th, 2008, 02:50 PM

I just ordered the .55 fisheye and it will be here on 7/30... :) The .6 WA has some issues from what others have said including Ryan from schneider optics and they have been allowing returns and are currenlty working on the issue, Someone correct me if I wam wrong but as far as I know the .6 will be re-released in the future without issues...

Ryan Avery · July 29th, 2008, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Bodnar

I just ordered the .55 fisheye and it will be here on 7/30... :) The .6 WA has some issues from what others have said including Ryan from schneider optics and they have been allowing returns and are currenlty working on the issue, Someone correct me if I wam wrong but as far as I know the .6 will be re-released in the future without issues...

The .6x only has one issue that we have discovered at a later date than previous posts. For some reason, when the image stabilizer is turned on with the EX1, our .6x wide angle adapter vignettes slightly and only in underscan when editing. TV safe viewing is just fine. The focus issues are non existant if you use the attachment properly. The camera must be in macro mode and either electronic manual focus or auto focus. The Sony EX1 has a full manual focus mode where you engage the gears of the Fujinon lens but then you lose macro for some reason that I can't figure out. The Century .6x requires macro mode to focus on the virtual image created by the adapter which then creates the wide angle image.

As far as effects of both lenses; I haven't had time to shoot our EX1 attachments but the general effect is the same with the Canon XH-A1 which I do have clips of both lenses. Click on the appropriate lens and then the 'Samples' tab to check out the footage of each lens. The .6x and HD Fisheye are the only applicable lenses here. The others are not representative of our adapters on the EX1.

http://www.schneideroptics.com/centu...h-g1/xh-g1.htm

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

Paul Cronin · July 29th, 2008, 11:37 AM

Ryan I just used the Century Fisheye on my last job and the results are excellent. Thanks for such a great lens for the price!

Go here and look at the link on post #56 for a short clip with the fisheye.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...=124549&page=4

Craig Hollenback · July 29th, 2008, 07:16 PM

[QUOTE=Paul Cronin;910128]Hi Jason,

But I will cut it off once the Red Rock Matte box is ready to ship.

Paul, I also have the Sony .8...it works well for me also. I plan to get the red rock soon. Do you have a plan about cutting off the sunshade?
Thanks, Craig

Paul Cronin · July 30th, 2008, 07:35 AM

Craig well I did not purchase the Red Rock Box since they were so slow at getting back to me so I went with the indiFocus. The Box arrives today and I will see what has to be done to make it fit the WA it might fit just the way it is?

Craig Hollenback · July 30th, 2008, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Cronin

Craig well I did not purchase the Red Rock Box since they were so slow at getting back to me so I went with the indiFocus. The Box arrives today and I will see what has to be done to make it fit the WA it might fit just the way it is?

Thanks so much Paul...I am in the same position regarding delivery time. I really appreciate your feedback especially beacuase we have the samw WA adapter.
Best, Craig

Paul Cronin · July 30th, 2008, 11:41 AM

Craig I will see if it fits today when the Box shows up and let you know. Since I am on the road early tomorrow for a job the next two weeks.

July 21st, 2008, 10:48 AM	#1
Jason Bodnar Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 376	Sony WA vs Century Fisheye I am trying to figure out which to go with or Both, an Yes I know there is a difference between a WA and a fisheye as I have both for my SD cam but my fisheye is the Extreme and this .55 does not look nearly as Fisheye to me....I have not seen any real test footage with the Sony WA but I saw the great footage of the fisheye by Steve, Now inside the helicopter it did not seem the distortion or bubble affect was very present and only when used extremely close to the object (headlight) did it start to bubble out. So can someone provide some examples of each of these two at full wide compared to just the onboard lens? Ideally I would have got the Century WA but it obviously is not reliable at this time... I would be using the attachment for a shot in the Grand Canyon and also a fight seen in a Barn... Any help or suggestions would be appreciated...

July 21st, 2008, 11:31 AM	#2
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Hi Jason, I have both and they are very different lens. The WA does a great job and the distortion is minimal. Some have said it is heavy but I don’t really notice the weight. Focus is easy and very sharp. Yes the sunshade is weird. But I will cut it off once the Red Rock Matte box is ready to ship. The Century Fisheye is a great lens once you know the focus tricks. Keep the focus ring forward for auto and switch to Macro. I also keep the bottom switch on manual and the focus dials right in and is very sharp. I have a few clips with the fisheye but not the same scene with and without. But I will put a clip up in a few hours. Buy both if you can afford it! __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

July 21st, 2008, 02:47 PM	#4
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Jason I will have to downconvert the clips since Cox only lets me upload 10 mb at a time. Anyone have a trick so I can upload full size clips with Cox.net? __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com Last edited by Paul Cronin; November 29th, 2008 at 07:05 PM.

July 24th, 2008, 06:56 AM	#7
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Jason this is not working the upload fails every time and it is only 1.6 MB. I did a shoot yesterday and 90% was the Sony WA and Century Fisheye. Both lens worked great. I have one more job through Sunday then will be able to show you some footage. send me a email and I will give you a link to some clips next week if you are interested. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

July 29th, 2008, 11:37 AM	#11
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Ryan I just used the Century Fisheye on my last job and the results are excellent. Thanks for such a great lens for the price! Go here and look at the link on post #56 for a short clip with the fisheye. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...=124549&page=4 __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

July 21st, 2008, 01:18 PM	#3
Jason Bodnar Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 376	Thanks Paul, I am looking foward to the clips...

July 21st, 2008, 03:15 PM	#5
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Jason not sure what the problem is but it only accepts one of the files. I always have a problem uploading files it must be cox.net. I will try tomorrow when I have more time to get the fisheye up. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

July 21st, 2008, 06:25 PM	#6
Jason Bodnar Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 376	Thanks Paul

July 24th, 2008, 03:25 PM	#8
Ted OMalley Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 596	Has anyone compared the Century .6 with the .55? http://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecomm...=1474&IID=6368 http://www.schneideroptics.com/Ecomm...=1474&IID=6373 I'm leaning toward the .55, even though it costs a little more, because it is more of what I'm going for. It would, though, be nice to see footage of both, side by side.

July 25th, 2008, 02:50 PM	#9
Jason Bodnar Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 376	I just ordered the .55 fisheye and it will be here on 7/30... :) The .6 WA has some issues from what others have said including Ryan from schneider optics and they have been allowing returns and are currenlty working on the issue, Someone correct me if I wam wrong but as far as I know the .6 will be re-released in the future without issues...

July 29th, 2008, 07:16 PM	#12
Craig Hollenback Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Key West Posts: 247	[QUOTE=Paul Cronin;910128]Hi Jason, But I will cut it off once the Red Rock Matte box is ready to ship. Paul, I also have the Sony .8...it works well for me also. I plan to get the red rock soon. Do you have a plan about cutting off the sunshade? Thanks, Craig

July 30th, 2008, 07:35 AM	#13
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Craig well I did not purchase the Red Rock Box since they were so slow at getting back to me so I went with the indiFocus. The Box arrives today and I will see what has to be done to make it fit the WA it might fit just the way it is? __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

July 30th, 2008, 11:41 AM	#15
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Craig I will see if it fits today when the Box shows up and let you know. Since I am on the road early tomorrow for a job the next two weeks. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com